3. globalization - influence of Sheik Mohammed of Dubai for instance, US horses traveling abroad to race, and import/export of racing stock to/from the US.

4. racehorse retirement - closing of slaughterhouses in the US has focused attention on this subject.

5. addition of casino style gambling at many US tracks.

I was reading some of the old posts about the cost of owning a racehorse and I wanted to say that from 2006-2008 the costs have all certainly gone up. A $75/day rate for training doesn't seem as high as it did a couple years ago, due to the dramatic increase in the cost of doing business.